ゆ種蒔くあらきの小田を求めむと
足結ひ出で濡れぬこの川の瀬に
足結ひ出で濡れぬこの川の瀬に
- Roma-ji
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Yudane maku araki no oda o motomemu to ayui ide nurenu kono kawa no se ni
- English Translation
-
Seeking a fresh-cleared
new field of small paddies
to sow with sacred seed,
I tied my leggings and set out,
and got soaked in this river's shallows
- Meaning
- Seeking a newly cleared little field to sow with blessed seed, I tied up my leggings and set out—and was drenched in the shallows of this river.
- Commentary
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Book Seven Miscellaneous Poems 1110
Headnote continued from the preceding poem: "On Rivers"
The poet set out in search of a newly cleared field to sow with purified seed, and got soaked in the river's shallows. One reading takes seeking a new field as a figure for seeking a new love, and the soaking as the trouble it cost.
Following the preceding poem, it too treats the river shallows as a scene of love's hardships within the group on rivers. The poet is unknown.
In the first line, "yudane" means seed rice purified by ritual.
In the second line, "araki" means newly cleared paddy land, and "oda" is an affectionate word for a field.
The third line, "Seeking," means "intending to search for."
The fourth line, "I tied my leggings and set out, and got soaked," refers to "ayui," tying the trousers below the knee as preparation for travel. The perfective "nu" ends the statement here, in a line with an extra syllable.
The final line, "in this river's shallows," gives the place by inversion.
- Source
- Manyoshu
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Sahinokuma hinokumagawa no se o hayami kimi ga te toraba koto yosemu kamo
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Inishie mo kaku kikitsutsu ka shinoikemu kono furukawa no kiyoki se no to o